


Restart

by botanychick



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Eddie just wants to move on, Just Leave A Comment, M/M, Richie misses Eddie so much, Slow Burn, and I'll explain, angel!richie, eddie can't remember Richie's face, i love these boys, if you have any questions, it's a lil graphic in the beginning but it's not that bad, no IT, so like, that clown can CHOKE, this is a very complicated AU, very slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-09 13:11:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12277164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/botanychick/pseuds/botanychick
Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak watched his best friend, Richie Tozier, die at age 5.Eddie Kaspbrak is finally going to a public high school.Eddie Kaspbrak is also finally beginning to find closure in his best friend's death.Richie Tozier might be dead, but he's definitely not done with Derry (or Eddie, for that matter).





	1. The Death Of Richie Tozier

“Ha! Gotcha sucker!”   
  
Richie stood tall, proud of his aim. It was quite a sight; his best friend Eddie, face covered in mud, was frozen with shock. Richie had snuck up behind Eddie and thrown a wad of mud at him. Eddie looked over at Richie and started laughing. Richie quickly began to laugh as well. The two boys started a mud war, and soon both boys were covered in mud.   
  
The night air was crisp and cool. The leaves on the trees had started to change color, and the grass had begun to yellow up. Richie and Eddie were the grand old age of five; their mothers had been close friend whilst they were both pregnant. Richie and Eddie had grown up together. Eddie’s mother liked to measure Richie’s height whenever he came over, treating him like a second son.   
  
Eddie’s mother was the mother Richie never really had. After Richie’s birth, she changed. She stayed out later, yelled louder at her husband, and refused to do basic tasks. Already she was training Richie on how to do the household chores, like mopping and scrubbing the bathroom floor. She told him it would give him “character”. It was because of this Richie found solace at Eddie’s house. Eddie’s mother hugged him, wiped away his tears, and knew what his favorite sandwich was. Richie idolized her.   
  
Eddie loved his mother with a fierce passion. Although she could get onto him about germs and sickness sometimes, he knew that she meant well. Eddie had never gotten sick before, and he attributed this to his mother’s close eye on him.   
  


Every Friday night, Richie and Eddie went out to the Barrens to play until the sun went down. The two boys had grossly overestimated the amount of time they had left, and soon realized that the moon was already rising.   
  
“Oh shoot! Mom’s gonna kill me!” Eddie complained, trying to brush the mud off of his clothes. Richie only laughed more at this sight.   
“Oh geez Eddie, it’ll be fine! We’ll just tell her we got lost or something; moms eat that stuff up.”   
“You really think so?”   
“Yeah, I’m sure.” The two boys smiled at each other, and headed out of the Barrens.   
  
The woods were quiet; the only thing that could be heard was the occasional bird. The moon washed everything over with a soothing light, like the nightlight both boys had. It was the perfect night, and it had been the perfect day. Richie tried whistling, but all that came out was air. Eddie glanced over at Richie and smiled.   
  
“You’re my best friend Richie.” Richie stopped and gave Eddie a wide smile.   
“You’re my best friend too.”   
  
As the two boys walked out of the Barrens and onto the street, the moon seemed to rise faster and faster. There was a metallic smell in the air, something that made the hairs on the back of Richie’s neck stand straight out. Richie grabbed Eddie’s hand and dragged him along with him, walking much faster than before. Richie’s hand in Eddie’s comforted both boys immensely; it was almost as if their linked hands gave them extra courage.   
  
“Richie, what’s wrong?”   
“Aw, it’s nothing. I just don’t wanna be too late, y’know? I think I know a shortcut.” Richie and Eddie, hand in hand, walked into a small alleyway. This was usually where everyone dumped their trash, and sometimes parents would pay their kids to drag their trashbag up into it. As Richie and Eddie peered through the alleyway, they saw the porch lights of their houses.   
  
“Look, see! Our houses are right there!” Richie said with a smile, relieved to have gotten away from whatever had been haunting him out near the Barrens. Eddie smiled back, because he too had felt a strong sense of fear near the Barrens. He too was relieved to be out of that place. The boys began to walk out of the alleyway until Richie stopped dead in his tracks.   
  
Richie’s eyes grew large. That metallic smell was back, the smell that consumed his senses. He felt as if he was choking on it, unable to put a name to the horrid odor coming from the trash bag to his left. Tenderly, Richie opened up the trash bag, then proceeded to vomit out his lunch.   
  
Eddie, shellshocked, rushed over to Richie’s side.   
  
“Richie! What’s wrong? Oh God, what’s wr-” Eddie stopped abruptly, for as he had been talking, he had been inching closer and closer towards the trash bag, until he was able to peer over and look at its contents. Eddie felt an overwhelming wave of nausea at what he saw, and he tried to choke it down, but it was too late, far, far too late, and he had already seen the awful things inside that trash bag.   
  
Inside the trash bag was a man, and a dead one at that. He had been dead for days, and his eyes had popped out of his head. Maggots invaded the space where his eyes had been, and his skin peeled back to reveal the eggs of various insects. He had no ears, and each of his fingers had been stripped down to the bone. It was too much, too much blood, too much bone, just too much. The boys couldn’t process this, didn’t want to process this, but one of them had to.   
  
Eddie remained on the ground, weeping silently. It was Richie that stood up, Richie that slowly closed the bag. Tears slowly made their way down his face. Richie had never understood death. He didn’t grasp the concept of leaving the Earth. Now he did, and he wished he didn’t.   
  
Eddie rose to his feet too, and helped Richie tie the knot on the bag. Both stood for a while, no longer caring how dark it was. Neither spoke.   
  
Richie finally broke the silence.   
“We have to tell someone.”   
  
  
“I know.”   
  
The boys began to walk out of the alleyway, but a large shape blocked the way. The shape was a man, a man whose face was covered by the hat he wore. The smell was gone, but the fear that had accompanied it was back, and it was stronger now. Richie knew that this man was a bad, bad man, knew that even though he couldn’t see his face it was a bad face, knew that this man meant nothing but trouble.   
  
“So you little bastards found the bag, huh?” The man said in a raspy voice, his tone nonchalant. He walked forward, and the boys stepped back. The man pulled out a knife. Eddie, unable to speak, let out a whimper. The man walked closer, and the boys found themselves unable to move, paralyzed by fear.   
  
“You wanna know what I did to him?” The man asked. His mouth was visible from underneath the hat, and it twisted into a gruesome smile.   
  
“I cut off all his toes with a blunt blade, slowly. I cut his hair. I-”   
  
“Stop!” Eddie wailed, dropping down to the floor. The tears were back, and this time they were stronger than ever.   
  
“You think you can fucking cut me off like that? Huh?” The man growled, moving closer towards Eddie. The knife glinted in the moonlight, a type of cold, primal beauty infusing into it. The blade swung down.   
  
Richie choked, and coughed. The blade had lodged itself in his stomach, and Richie wanted to scream, wanted to scream so loud, but he knew if he made any type of noise the man would move on to Eddie next, and that was not going to happen.   
  
“Run, Eddie.”   
Richie said whispered. Richie turned his head to look at Eddie, and his eyes bore a type of old sadness that Eddie didn’t understand. Eddie’s blood ran cold, and he tried to move his legs, but they wouldn’t budge.   
  
The man removed the knife, and this time Eddie could see his eyes, and they were filled with a type of giddy humor. He laughed, and plunged the blade down again. This strike caused Richie’s body to convulse in pain, and he coughed up blood. The man stabbed Richie over, and over, and over again, and Richie broke his promise with himself and began to scream.   
  
“God Eddie, run! Run! Oh god, Eddie please it hurts so much run run run run-”   
  
Eddie ran.   



	2. Eddie Goes To High School

Eddie’s life had progressively gone downhill. Eddie’s mother, who had been only slightly overprotective, became a nightmare. She didn’t let Eddie leave the house for a year, and afterward, she had only let him leave the house when she was with him. She put him in intensive therapy, which was about the only thing that helped. Eddie’s mother was convinced he was deathly ill; she took him to different doctors on an almost weekly basis. He took several different kinds of pills daily, and also had an inhaler due to his asthma. He was never allowed to play with other kids.

 

Eddie was allowed one single freedom; every month, his mother let him go to Richie’s grave alone. These monthly visits were both a blessing and a curse. Eddie would lay down on the cold grass next to Richie’s grave and talk. For hours on end, he would talk.

  
Shortly after Richie’s death, Eddie had gone to Richie’s house to ask for a photograph. He remembered it clearly; it was a photo of Eddie and Richie, arms around each other, smiling. Richie kept it next to his bed. Eddie knocked on the door of the house, and was greeted by Richie’s mother. She reeked of alcohol, and her eyes seemed sunken into her skull. She took a drag from the cigarette she was holding and blew it into Eddie’s face. Eddie coughed, frantically grabbing for his inhaler, and took a puff from that. The two stood in silence, each taking hits from the things that kept them alive. Finally, Eddie asked his question.

  
“Um...I came here to ask for a photo. Richie kept it on his table.” Eddie stood nervously, waiting for a reply. Richie’s mother eyed Eddie up, and retreated back inside. She came back a few seconds later, photograph in hand. Eddie’s face brightened up, and he reached up to grab the photograph. Richie’s mother snatched it away from him. She pulled out a lighter, and burned Richie’s face off of the photograph. She dropped the photo outside of her door, and spoke.

 

“Don’t come back.” She snapped, and slammed the door. Eddie slowly bent down, gingerly moving his finger along the edges of the photograph. He stuffed it in his jeans pocket, and went back home, tears rolling down his face. He wiped them off quickly, knowing his mother would make an unnecessary fuss.

 

Richie’s face quickly disappeared from Eddie’s memory. Now, at age 17, Eddie could only remember certain things about his childhood with Richie. The way Richie’s hair curled at the ends. The feeling Eddie got inside his heart when Richie grabbed his hand. The smell of old comic books in Eddie’s basement. Eddie just couldn’t remember Richie’s face.  
  
The things he remembered the most were things he didn’t want to remember; the smell of blood. The harsh glint of the knife in the dim moonlight. The way Richie screamed at Eddie to run.

 

Eddie sighed at the foot of Richie’s grave, gently weaving strands of grass together.

 

“My life’s been getting a bit better, Richie.” He finally said, laying his head next to the tombstone. “Mom’s finally letting me go to a public high school. I mean, it’s just senior year, but it’s still something. She said that she watched a show on TV about how kids who don’t go to public school are more likely to be ‘mentally sick’ or something.” He rolled his eyes. “She said, ‘you’re sick enough, Eddie. I can’t have you get even sicker!'. What a bunch of garbage.”

 

Eddie gave the tombstone a sidelong glance, and let out a huff of air.  
“Y’know, it wouldn’t kill you to answer.” He said. Realizing he was talking to the tombstone as if it were an actual person, he laughed, and stood up. He grabbed his bag, which he had set down next to him, and looked back at the grave one last time.

  
“See ya later, Richie.” He said, smiling a soft, sad smile. After these words had been said, he left.

 

* * *

 

 

  
“Hi, my name is Eddie Kaspbrak. I’ve lived in Derry all my life, but I was homeschooled until now.” He said, smiling weakly at the class. The class seemed unfazed; a group of girls were sitting to his left, talking on and on about who he might be without even paying attention to what he was saying. Most of the boys were sleeping in the back, completely tuning out his words. The only person who seemed to be paying attention to him was a boy who sat in the very front of the class. He gave Eddie an encouraging smile.

 

“Well, thank you, Eddie! We’re glad to have you here.” Said the teacher. Eddie sat down next to the smiling boy, and turned to talk to him.

 

“Thanks for smiling at me. It felt so weird to stand up there and talk.” He said, giving the boy a real smile.

  
“Aw, it was n-n-nothing. I know h-how it feels.” The other boy replied. “My name’s Bill. I have a bit of a s-s-stutter”   
  
“Nice to meet you, Bill.”   
  
“Hey, lu-u-unch is right a-after this class. You wan-n-n-na sit with me and my frien-n-nds?”   
  
“I’d like that.”

 

Eddie was already feeling happier than he had in awhile; he was finally talking to other people, finally making new friends. Class flew by, and before he knew it, the lunch bell rang. He walked to lunch with Bill, and they talked about the newest comic books and the newest music. When they got to the lunchroom, Bill introduced everyone to Eddie.

 

“This is Mike; he m-m-moved here last week. He’s w-w-wicked smart.” Mike looked up at Eddie and smiled.

 

“This is Ben. He’s l-l-lived here since he was five. He move-ed here after the ‘incident’ down near the B-b-barrens.”  
  
Eddie’s blood ran cold; he already knew where the conversation was turning.

 

“What incident?” Asked Mike, looking at Bill with eyes full of curiosity. Ben eagerly answered, knowing all about it.

 

“Oh man, it was totally wild!” He said, eyes bright. “Two kids went down into an alleyway, heading home after playing down in the Barrens. They found a body in a bag-and dude, it was so messed _up!_ They were really scared then, like, super scared. So they’re headed out of the alleyway, and-”   
  
“Hey, Porky! Where’s my fucking lunch money?” interrupted a tall, beefy looking guy. Fear flooded into Ben’s eyes.

 

“Hey, Henry! I-I, well, um, I kinda already bought my lunch, Henry.” Ben stammered. He was shaking. Henry got closer.

  
“Haven’t we already talked about this, fatass? You don’t need all that food.” He slammed into Ben, throwing him against the table. The students around them had taken notice of the argument, and were watching closely. Ben groaned in pain as Henry kneed him in the stomach, hard. Eddie moved forward to stop Henry, but stopped when he saw a flash of black, curly hair.

 

“What do you think you’re doing, fucker?” The boy asked in a low voice. Henry gave him a sidelong glance.  
  
“It’s none of your business Marsh. Move along now.” Henry said, and finished by spitting on his feet. The boy raised an eyebrow and turned to his companion, a girl with red, shiny hair. She shrugged, and blew a bubble with her gum. As it popped, the boy slammed his fist into Henry’s gut. Henry drew back, coughing. He glared at the boy, his gaze murderous.

  
“Who the fuck do you think you are, Richie?” Henry said, right before punching Richie in the face. _Hard_ .   
  
Eddie froze. He looked at the boy, and the boy looked back.   
  
Time seemed to freeze as their eyes met. The boy ( _Richie?_ ) seemed to glow from within.   
  
Black curly hair. A sharp smile. Eyes that seemed old, older than Eddie could understand, covered with thick glasses. Blood, dripping down the side of his face and dripping off his jaw. Eddie snapped back to reality when he saw Henry take Ben’s lunch and slam it against the wall. Eventually, a school official came and escorted both Richie and Henry out of the cafeteria. Everything went back to normal.

 

Kinda.

 

“Who was that kid?” Eddie asked, his hands shaking. Mike replied.

 

“That’s a question I’ve actually got an answer for,” he said with a grin. “That’s Richie Marsh. He and his sister Beverly Marsh moved here a few months ago when their mom became the sheriff. Richie’s a hot head, and Beverly’s pretty chill. She sits with us sometimes, and so does her brother, but he never really pays attention to anything we say. Ben here’s got the hots for Beverly,” he finished with a smile, slapping Ben on the back. Ben blushed.

 

“Can I finish my story now?” Ben asked, desperate to change the subject. That was enough for Eddie.

 

“I’ll be right back,” he said, and quickly rushed out to the bathroom. The boys, mystified, watched him leave.

 

* * *

  


 

When Eddie reached the bathroom, he rushed towards a stall. He threw up, retching heavily. Luckily, no one was in the bathroom, so he could be sick in peace.  
  
“Yikes bud, that sounds pretty bad,” said a voice from outside the stall. Eddie froze, and vomited again. When he was finished, he quickly exited the stall and washed his hands. He turned, and saw the source of the voice.

 

It was Richie, the boy from before. He was leaning over the sink, wiping away at his face with a wet paper towel. He turned towards Eddie, and their eyes met again.

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before,” Richie said, his voice low and breathy. Eddie felt his pulse quicken ( _why?_ ).

 

“I was homeschooled for a while,” Eddie replied, his tone short.

 

“What’s your name?” Eddie flashed him a look of annoyance. He was _not_ about to idolize a guy who just _happened_ to have the same name as his dead best friend. The entire situation was 100% irrational, and frankly, he didn’t want to have the ‘I just threw up because ever since lunch I’ve been reliving past experiences I don’t wanna relive’ conversation with a total stranger.

 

“It’s Eddie. Look, I gotta go,” He said, and rushed out the door. If he had stayed, he would’ve seen the look Richie gave him. He would’ve seen him trace circles around the scars littering his stomach. He would’ve seen the single tear that slipped out before being quickly wiped away.

 

If Eddie had stayed for ten seconds longer he would have realized he had just blown off his dead best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOF AH I LOVE MY BOYS


	3. Richie Goes To Heaven (Kinda)

Richie Tozier was dead.

 

Richie  _ had _ been dead for twelve years. 

 

Richie was still getting used to the concept of an afterlife.

 

When Richie first arrived in “heaven” (or whatever the hell the place was), he was still bleeding. He had been told later on that this was quite common, especially with brutal deaths like his. However, as he had been five at the time of his death, he was very, very scared.

 

Richie had  _ also _ been properly freaked out by the fact he glowed. A lot. He wasn’t just faintly glowing like a subtle hallway light; no, this boy was brighter than a 100 watt light bulb. There was also the fact that he had wings; small, stark white wings that moved when he touched them.

 

Richie had wandered around, his eyes glazed over, until someone took him up to the welcome desk and gave him directions on how to get to a woman named Audra’s office.

 

When he sat in Audra’s office, she eyed him up quickly before talking in a quick, short manner.

 

“I’m sure you’re confused. That’s completely normal. Most people are when they come here.”

“I-I-I was bleeding! A lot! There was a lot of blood!”

“Well, that’s because your death was...brutal. I’ve read your case file.” Audra said, pulling out a thin paper folder.

“I’m dead?” 

Audra looked at him softly, sympathy evident in her eyes.

“Yes, honey. You’re dead. You died a hero; you saved a boy’s life.” Richie stared at her closely for a few seconds, and slumped back in his chair, exhausted. At this point Audra was very uncomfortable; she’d never been good with children. She slowly pushed a box of tissues in Richie’s direction. Richie eyed up the box, looked back at Audra, then looked down at his hands again. Audra started talking.

 

“The place you’ve arrived in is the  _ Greater Afterlife _ , something similar to the Overworld concept of Heaven.”

 

“What’s the Overworld?”

  
  


“It’s what we call Earth.” Audra continued speaking, ignoring the look of brief confusion on Richie’s face. She was running late for an important meeting, so she wrapped everything up.

“Come back to me when you’re thirteen. I’ll explain everything there. In the meantime…” Audra grabbed a stamp from one of the drawers of her desk and stamped something onto Richie’s file.

“I’ll be enrolling you in school. You’ll learn all the things that Overworlders are required to know.” She smiled at him, and warily, he smiled back.

 

* * *

 

 

Everything was a blur after that in Richie’s memory.

 

He dreamed of Eddie.

 

Constantly.

 

His dreams were full of Eddie; Eddie laughing, Eddie holding his hand, Eddie hugging him after he had cried over losing his pet frog.

 

His nightmares were full of Eddie too. Eddie crying. Eddie begging him not to go. Eddie running away, leaving him.

 

One night he woke up in a cold sweat, Eddie’s name on his lips. It was at that point he really allowed himself to cry, allowed himself to wail over his death. He never dreamed of Eddie again; Eddie only visited him in his fantasies, his daydreams.

 

Richie slowly learned his way around the Greater Afterlife. He lived with a small family for a few years, until he was old enough to apply for housing. School was a drag; he had double the work.

 

Years passed; Richie walked through his afterlife like a zombie, incapable of doing anything else. The kids in his class didn’t say anything about it; they understood, in a way, his suffering.

 

Everything changed when he turned 13.

 

The day he turned 13 he hunted Audra down. She had been standing around in her office with a friend, discussing her latest job. When she saw him, she quickly asked for some privacy.

 

“So what do you need to know?”

“Everything.” Audra sat down and took her glasses off. Her head rested in between her hands.

“Here in the Greater Afterlife, we Angels all have the opportunity to choose our jobs. You can do just about any normal Overworld job here, but there are also jobs that are a little more...angelic.” 

Audra pursed her lips.

“People who have bright auras like yours qualify for Guardian jobs. The majority of Guardian jobs are simple; maybe you’ll help a kid find his mom, or maybe you’ll strike an artist with inspiration at the exact best moment. However…” Audra walked over to where Richie was sitting and used her pencil to gently lift up his shirt from the bottom. Richie’s wings fluttered softly from her touch, startled.

“Hey, what the-”

 

“Mhm. Just what I thought.” She walked out into the hall, her heels softly clicking on the tile floor, and returned with a small camera. She quickly snapped a photo of his lower back. She then used the pencil to pull back the top of his shirt, and snapped a photo there too.

“Right under your wings, you have a Mark. That’s something everyone has, but you also have the Saint’s Blessing. It’s a Mark that allows those with powerful auras to walk the Earth.” She gave the camera over to Richie. He saw a mark on the small of his back, shaped like a moon. In the next photo, he had another mark. It was a complex thing, with lines that seemed the cross and intersect. Two of the lines extended from the top and came to rest near the top of his shoulders.

 

Audra looked at the photo and shrugged.

“Looks like a blob to me. Only angels with powerful auras or a heightened sight can see what it really looks like.”

 

“Why do I have a powerful aura?”

  
  


“It takes most angels  _ decades _ to get a bright aura. However, special cases like yours are different. Because you saved someone’s life, your aura is naturally brighter than that of other angel’s aura. There are other circumstances that can lead to a naturally bright aura as well, like dying before it’s their time to actually die.”

 

“These angels are the ones given the more difficult tasks, like preventing a suicide, or making sure a child with a bright future makes it to his or her bright future. These tasks are ones that angels only dream of doing. See, an angel’s aura is brightened by the tasks they do. The more difficult the task, the brighter your aura becomes.”

 

“So I could go back?” Audra paused.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I could go back home?” 

 

Audra sighed.

 

“Going back to the Overworld on the Saint’s Blessing is only a temporary thing; you have to return to the Greater Afterlife every so often to give a “progress report” of sorts. Since I’m the head of the Guardian’s department, you would report back to me. Failure to report back to me would result in a removal of your wings, or worse yet, a removal of your physical body.” Audra folded her hands together, then unfolded them. Richie looked down at his hands; teardrops started to accumulate on the tops of his hands. Audra was at a loss for words.

 

“I just wanna apologize.” He whispered. He quickly stood up and left her office. Audra looked at the empty chair for a few minutes, and opened up her schedule to make a note: “Request Richie Tozier for Guardianship”.

 

* * *

  
  
  


Richie started smiling again. Slowly, he let himself feel real emotions other than sadness and anger. He talked to other people; he made friends, too.

 

Years passed by.

 

* * *

  
  
  


“Oh my god Bev, you know I didn’t do last night’s homework!” Richie complained, his smiling face revealing his real feelings. He ran his fingers through his dark, curly hair, and twisted a bit of it around his finger. He had grown up fast; gone was the baby fat in his cheeks. His face was angular, as if it had been carved from marble. He had let his hair grow out too, until it just touched the bottoms of his ears.

 

“Sucks to be you, Trashmouth.” Beverly retorted, laughing and pulling out their history homework. Richie snatched it out of her hands and began to frantically copy it down. 

 

“Why do you even care about your grades here? It’s not like it’s gonna have serious consequences.”

 

“Well if you want to be a Guardian it does. I need high grades to even be  _ considered _ for a job like that.”

 

“You’ll get it either way; your aura is like a fucking light bulb,” Beverly muttered, rolling her eyes. Richie glared at her. Her aura wasn’t  _ completely _ nonexistent, no matter what she tried to tell him. it glowed faintly, like the way the moon does on a cloudy night. Beverly had been killed by her father; she had always been very open about her death, and it never seemed to phase her. For years, Beverly had tried to get Richie to open up about his death. Richie refused.

 

“Hey, what are we talking about?” Stan asked. He had just gotten out of one of his classes; Beverly and Richie had a free period.

 

“Oh nothing, just talking about how I banged your mom last night.”

“Beep beep Richie,” Beverly said, laughing a little. Stan laughed a bit too, knowing that jokes like those were just how Richie said hello. Stan was lucky; his mother had died when he was born, and so when he died, he was able to move in with her.

 

“What do you think you’re gonna choose as a career Stan?” Beverly asked.

“I mean, there’s not a lot I really can do,” Stan said. Beverly looked at Stan, her mouth open in an attempt to apologize, but Stan waved it off. Stan’s aura was bright, but it was a different kind of bright. It’s brightness changed ever so often, going from dim to bright. Stan had killed himself; his emotional turmoil had caused his aura to be in a constant state of change. Because of this, he was labeled “unstable” (which was absolute bullshit in Richie’s opinion). The only jobs he could get were office jobs and public service jobs.

“It’s fine Bev. What about you?” At this question, Beverly perked up.

 

“Oh you know, I really wanna be a Guardian, like Richie.” Beverly didn’t have a Saint’s mark, but she was gifted at Overworld manipulation; it was something every young angel was trained in, but only a few truly excelled at it. Because of her high ability, she had a chance to go before the High Council and ask for a temporary mark.

“I’ve got a High Council meeting next Monday.”

  
  


“Remind me again what the High Council is.”

  
  


“Richie, we literally just went over it yesterday.”

  
  


“I sleep during that class.” Seeing Beverly’s annoyed expression, he backpedaled. “I could  _ really _ use the all-knowing Beverly’s help.” He sank down to his knees and clasped his hands together. “Please, almighty Beverly! Grant me with this knowledge!” He bent down as if to kiss her feet. Beverly laughed and kicked him off.

 

“Beep Beep Richie! You idiot, the High Council is the council of the three most powerful angels. I’ve heard that their auras are so bright, they wear special clothing to dim them.” Richie leaned back in his seat, chewing thoughtfully on his pencil.

 

“Remind me again why you want to be a guardian Richie?” Stan asked. Richie turned towards Stan, batted his eyelashes, and replied with a short explanation.

 

“Personal business.”

Beverly groaned. 

“You say that every single time Richie! C’mon, tell us why.” Richie sank down more in his seat. His fingers wandered around as if they were detached from his body. Finally, he spoke.

 

“It’s not important. Really, it’s not.” He looked back up at Beverly and grinned. She managed to smile back; Richie worried her. The bell rang. Class flew by. Richie slept through the day.

 

Richie dreamed, for the first time in a long time. He dreamed of knives and faceless men. He dreamed of trash bags filled with unspeakable horrors. He dreamed of the tear stricken face of his best friend.

 

His best friend.

 

Richie would never be able to stop thinking about him.

 

Richie woke up with a sharp ringing in his ears; the final bell had rung. Richie left the school and headed towards his apartment building. He liked his apartment; it was always clean, always a comforting place in which he could get away from his thoughts. He grabbed his mail and unlocked his apartment door. He immediately sprawled out onto the couch and began to go through his mail. He sighed, thinking it all to be junk mail, but a letter addressed to him in familiar handwriting made him stop. He tore through the envelope and quickly read its contents.

 

_ Dear Richie Tozier, _

 

_ Based on your requests, we have found you a suitable Guardian job for you. Please see Audra Phillips on the third floor of the Department of Guardianship. We look forward to helping you acquire a job again. _

 

Richie bolted out of his apartment, not caring to see if he had closed the door. He ran all the way to the Department, sweat just starting to form on his hairline. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red hair.

 

“Richie! I’ve been summoned by uh…” Beverly pulled out a letter nearly identical to his own. Richie smiled.

 

“Looks like we’ll be working on a case together, Bev.” Beverly looked at him, disbelief evident in her eyes.

 

“I haven’t even seen the Council yet.”

 

“Audra’s a bit...over excited when it comes to new cases.”

 

“You know her?” Richie bit his lip.

 

“Kinda.” As they walked towards Audra’s office, Beverly looked at Richie carefully; he seemed to be buzzing with energy in quite a literal sense. His aura was shaky, but not in a Stan type of shaky, but a nervous type of shaky. Richie walked straight into Audra’s office without knocking, evidently not caring whether or not Audra was in a meeting. Luckily for him, she was not.

 

“Mr. Tozier!” Audra said brightly, the beginnings of a smile evident on her face. “I’ve got a case for you.”

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“ _ Ben Hanscom? _ ” Richie said, disbelief evident in his voice.

 

“Mhm, that’s right. He has a very bright future, but he’s always being bullied into submission. The High Council gave the case to you  _ personally _ Richie. Try to be a bit more excited.” Audra said. Richie glared at her.

 

“This isn’t the case I want and you know it.”

 

“I tried to get you on that case, Richie, I really did. But this is the next best thing! Ben lives in Derry too, so you’ll be fine,” Audra finished, ignoring the look of annoyance on Richie’s face. Audra turned towards Beverly, who had no idea what was going on.

 

“Beverly, you’ve been assigned to Eddie Kaspbrak.” Richie lost his shit.

 

“Are you fucking serious?” He said, so loud it was almost a yell. Audra whipped around to face him.

 

“You better watch your language when you’re around me,  _ Richie Tozier _ . I tried to get you that case, and you know that. Don’t take this out on me.” She snapped at him, feeling satisfied once she saw the angry expression on Richie’s face turn to one of annoyance.

“I’m literally so confused right now,” Beverly said, looked at Richie like it was the first time she had ever seen him. Audra raised an eyebrow.

 

“You didn’t tell her?”

 

“It’s none of her business.”

 

“It is now Richie; I haven’t properly explained this to you.” She looked at Beverly and Richie to make sure both of them were paying close attention. “Since we have three active cases in Derry, you two will be posing as siblings.”

 

“Who’s gonna be our parent?” Richie asked, leaning closer in. At this, Audra smiled.

 

“Me! I’ll be your parent. See, there’s a Demonoid loose in Derry, so we have to take precautions. That’s why I’m there; to take care of the Demonoid.”

 

The word ‘demonoid’ sent shivers down Richie and Beverly’s spine. That had been something Richie paid close attention to in class. Demonoids were escaped souls from hell; these souls possessed teenagers and young adults and went on mass killing sprees. Demonoids were one of the only things that could kill angels. The death of an angel was rare, very rare, but it had happened before. The fact that Audra had taken notice of a Demonoid this quickly was lucky; most angels were only able to catch Demonoids after they had already killed too many people.

 

“Do you know who the Demonoid is?” Beverly asked. Audra’s smile faded.

 

“Not exactly...see, if I knew who it was, it would be a simple extraction job. I could just go in and boom!” Audra made a gun with her hands and mimicked firing it. “Quick and easy. Unfortunately, since I don’t know who it is, we have to do a long haul type job. We might be down there for months, even years. It takes a while for a non-emergent Demonoid to emerge. We won’t know who it is for sure until it kills one person.” Audra sighed.

 

“And that’s why you think I should tell Beverly? Because we’re gonna be living together? She’s basically my sister already.” At this remark, Beverly turned towards Richie and put on a face of mock happiness.

 

“I’m  _ touched _ .”

 

“Piss off, Beverly.”

 

“ **_LANGUAGE, TOZIER,_ ** ” Audra said, emphasizing each word and every syllable. Richie shut up. “Now if you don’t tell her, I will.” Richie uttered various sounds of displeasure and annoyance, but one nasty look from Audra shut him up fast. 

 

“The reason Richie’s aura is so bright is because when he was five years old, he saved his best friend’s life by sacrificing himself. This act of pure love is what powers his aura.” Beverly turned towards Richie, real emotion evident in her eyes.

 

“Richie…” She whispered, her voice quiet.

 

“I don’t want your sympathy Bev; what happened happened. I’m dead, and Eddie’s not. That’s all I care about.” Beverly paused when Eddie’s name was mentioned.

 

“Eddie...as in, my case Eddie? That’s why Richie’s so pissed at me?”

 

Audra nodded, and Richie slinked further down into his seat.

“Well can’t we trade cases?” Beverly asked. At this Audra slammed her files down onto her desk.

 

“Absolutely not!” She said through clenched teeth. “Do you know how much trouble I would get in if you two,  _ against the direct orders of the High Council _ , traded off cases as if it were no big deal?”

 

“But...it’s not a big deal…” Beverly said, confused.

 

“YES, IT IS,” Audra yelled, thoroughly ticked off. “Y’all must  _ really _ want me to lose my job, because that’s what would happen if I were to let you guys switch off. The High Council  _ carefully  _ assigns cases to each and every angel, and more importantly, the occasionally ask for my input. You wanna know what I said to them, Richie? I said ‘Richie would _ really _ appreciate a job in Derry.’ And you wanna know what they said to me? They said ‘If that’s what you think is best, Audra.’ YOU WILL TAKE THE CASES YOU HAVE AND YOU  _ WILL _ LIKE THEM.” She finished, and Richie swore he could see steam coming out of her ears. They sat in silence for a few seconds before Richie spoke.

 

“...’y’all?’” Richie asked, a ghost of a smile on his lips. Audra huffed and rolled her eyes.

 

“It’s what the adults say in Derry; I’m getting used to the slang.”

 

“Sorry for getting you all hot and bothered Audra.”

 

“Richie so help me god-”

 

“Okay! That’s enough of that!” Beverly interjected, exhausted with the argument. “Just tell us how this works.”

 

“With the help of some of the High Council’s aura work, we will place ourselves in Derry as one big happy family. We leave tomorrow, but to the citizens of Derry, it’ll seem like we’ve been there for around a year. I’ll be posing as the sheriff, and you two will be my children.”

 

“Bev looks nothing like me.”

 

“Plenty of children don’t look similar to their siblings! The minds of the citizens of Derry will be just faded enough to not realize. Of course, there might be the occasional straggler that can see through that, but other than that, we should be fine.” Audra smiled at them. “I look forward to working with you guys!”

 

“One more thing Audra; I don’t have a Saint’s Mark. What am I supposed to do about that? The High Council was supposed to grant me one on Monday.” Beverly said. 

 

Audra shrugged, and reached into one of the drawers of her desk. She pulled out a small stamp, which looked old, older than Audra. Audra walked over to Beverly and gently pulled back her shirt. 

 

“This is gonna sting a little Beverly; I have the authority to grant Saint’s Marks, but they’re not as delicately placed as a natural one, or one granted by the high council.” Audra pressed the stamp against Beverly’s skin. It started to smoke. For the first time in years, Richie saw blood, dripping down onto Beverly’s shirt.

 

Beverly screamed.

 

* * *

  
  


 

“We’re sorry to have to leave you Stan; I’m sure we won’t be gone long,” Beverly said, hugging Stan tight. Stan withdrew from her and smiled.

 

“It’s okay Bev; I just got good news. I’m an intern for a member of the Lesser Council!” Stan said, beaming. Richie smiled; an internship for the Lesser Council, the council that took care of simple issues, was a good job.

 

“So long Stan,” Richie said, and he too pulled Stan into a hug. Stan, shocked, hugged him back. After Stan left, Beverly and Richie waited at the edge of the Department of Guardianship, waiting patiently for Audra. Richie looked into the sky, closed his eyes, and dreamed of Eddie.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh y'all I'm so tired rn, not only did I write this chapter, I speed wrote three essays and turned them all in. At least I have straight A's :')


	4. Eddie Cries (A Lot)

Eddie exited the bathroom and went out into the hall; he wasn’t quite ready to face his new friends yet, but he  _ definitely  _ didn’t want to be in the bathroom alone with that creep Richie. There was something about him that was eerily familiar, the type of familiar that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. He slouched down against the wall of the hallway and looked around; there wasn’t a teacher in sight. There was no one in the hallway, actually, except for a small girl with red hair. Eddie sighed; he had tried to get away from the creep, but now he was stuck with the creep’s sister. He pushed the thought out of his mind. The girl herself ( _ Bailey? Something with a b.)  _ probably wasn’t a creep. She put the cigarette against her delicate lips and breathed in, her eyes dull, lost in her thoughts. Eddie briefly thought back to the day he went to Richie’s house, and disgust flooded his thoughts.   
  
He finally let himself cry. The tears fell down his face, silently at first, but they very quickly became ugly, guttural sobs. The sound shook the girl out of her smokey reverie and she quickly put out her cigarette. She walked over towards Eddie in two swift movements and sat down next to him. She dug through the pockets of her tattered jacket and pulled out a half used tissue. Eddie, usually adverse to almost every germ on the face of the Earth, took it from her. He wiped the tears off of his face, and slowly controlled his outburst. The girl stayed silent until Eddie looked over at her, his eyes red from the tears. She spoke in a gentle, lilting voice.

****

“You wanna talk about it?”   
  
“Not really, no,” Eddie responded, worn out from his crying. He stayed silent for a few moments longer, then turned to the girl again. “This is gonna sound like a really fucked thing to say, but I can’t remember your name.” She rolled her eyes and lit another cigarette.    
  
“It’s Beverly,” she said after exhaling a mouthful of smoke. Eddie wrinkled his nose.

****

“Could you maybe, like,  _ not  _ do that right now? I’ve got asthma.” Beverly snorted, and continued to take drags from her cigarette. Eddie took this as a no. 

****

Eddie didn’t know what to say. He’d never been very good at talking, which in part was due to his lack of friends after Richie. He mindlessly played with his hair, trying to find a way to continue without telling Beverly the inevitable. The setting was perfect; the two of them were sitting in an abandoned hallway, Beverly puffing away at her cigarette, Eddie sitting silently, trying to get the redness in his eyes to go down. Eddie knew that Beverly, although he barely knew her, could be like his personal confession box. She had offered, even. But it was like the author of Eddie’s life was stuck, unable to continue. It frustrated Eddie to no end, unable to put his thoughts and feelings into words.

****

“My best friend died when I was 5,” Eddie blurted out, silently wincing moments after, knowing the bluntness of his words were too much. Beverly coughed on the cigarette smoke and looked over at Eddie. Her eyes were not full of shock like he had expected them to be, but instead, her gaze held a mixture of empathy and pity. Eddie had never understood why people didn’t appreciate pity; from the right people, he supposed, pity was nothing more than sorrow, exemplified in a way that can only be felt. He got that from Beverly, got it right away.

****

“Go on,” she said softly, voice scratchy from the smoke. He hesitated, unsure of the time; he didn’t want to pour his heart out to her only to find that midway through his story, the bell rang, and he was caught in a sea of confused peers.

****

“Do you know what time it is?” Eddie asked, noticing the watch residing on Beverly’s left wrist.

  
“We’ve got time,” she responded, not bothering to check her watch.

****

Eddie began telling Beverly what started out only as a simple retelling of the events that went down in the alleyway. Slowly, it began transforming into his life story. He told Beverly about his mother, and the confines she placed on him. He talked about his feelings of hopelessness, his untrust in the world. Mostly, he talked about Richie. About the flashes of him he saw every day; the streetlamp across from his house, the musty comic books in the bottom of his closet, the stars. They all held faded memories of times long gone, happy times, where laughter was as common as the dirt stains on Richie’s pale blue jeans. Hours seemed to pass, and still, the bell had not rung. He finished, his voice tired from talking.

****

“I just want to move on. I want every memory of Richie out of my life. I can’t keep living halfway like this. I can’t keep living in my memories,” he said in a weary voice. Beverly chewed on her cigarette, lost in thought.

****

“I can’t say anything to make you feel better,” she finally said. “But I can be here to talk to. When it gets too rough.”

****

“I have a therapist for that.”   
  
“Friends are different,” she said. Eddie stopped biting on his nails (a nasty habit, he knew, but he couldn’t help it). His voice cracked.

****

“I’m your friend?”   
  
“I mean, I’ve gotten to know you pretty well.”   
  
“I know literally nothing about you except you like smoking.”   
  
“Here’s another tidbit then,” she said, and leaned in close towards him. “I like listening,” she finished, her voice suddenly taking on a raspy tone that Eddie didn’t quite understand. Eddie felt her breath release on her ear. He twitched, not expecting this sudden act of intimacy. Her breath smelled like peppermint and smoke, and she herself smelled like something nostalgic that Eddie couldn’t quite word. Eddie quickly leaned back.

****

“Good to know,” he breathed out, suddenly very uncomfortable. She leaned back up against the wall, seemingly unphased. He bit his lip.

****

“Hey, why’s your brother such a cre-,” he began, but was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing. She stood up just as swiftly as she had sat down, and extended a hand towards Eddie. He took it, and stood up. Beverly brushed herself off, and stuffed an unlit cigarette in her mouth. She seemed to be staring at something directly behind Eddie, a wisp of a smile on her lips. Before Eddie had the chance to turn to see who it was, he felt an arm sling around his shoulders.

****

“Hey there Eds,” Richie said, his eyes cool. Richie had a lighter in his hand, and used it to light the cigarette in Beverly’s mouth. Eddie scoffed, and threw Richie’s arm off of him. 

****

“Don’t call me Eds,” he said, frowning.

****

Beverly laughed, but sent Richie a sharp look.

****

“Don’t bother with my brother, Eddie. He thinks he’s funny.” Richie clasped his hands together against his chest in mock shock.

****

“What do you mean ‘ _ thinks _ ’? I’m the funniest person you know!”   
  
“Don’t flatter yourself Trashmouth.” Richie, bored with the conversation with Beverly, turned back to Eddie.

****

“Is my sister here  _ corrupting  _ another one of America’s youth? Shocking.” Eddie ignored him, and Richie frowned, but it was the type of frown that was too exaggerated to be real. “Tough crowd. What’s your next class?” Richie asked. Eddie sighed, sensing that Richie wouldn’t go away until he told him.

****

“Chemistry with Mr. Smith.” Richie’s face brightened, and he took Eddie by the hand.

****

“We’ve got the same class! I’ll show you the way,” Richie said, and began to drag him off in the other direction. Eddie’s protests died in his throat. Beverly watched from afar, curiosity relit in her eyes. 

****

* * *

 

****

Eddie hated to say it (and when he said he hated it, he really, really hated it), but Richie’s hand in his felt nice. Really, really nice, the type of unsettling niceness that made him feel queasy. A nostalgic type of nice.

****

_ Nostalgia. _

****

Eddie had had enough nostalgia today to last him a lifetime.

****

Eddie was surprised that no one was staring at them. Eddie began to wonder if Richie was just known for grabbing random boy’s hands and dragging them off to unknown locations, and laughed a little at the thought. Richie turned back to look at him, his curly hair strewn about his face. His eyes, Eddie had decided, were nice. Very nice. Eddie had half a mind to let go of Richie’s hand and let him go on without him. He  _ barely  _ knew Richie, didn’t know the first thing about him, but there was an odd comfort in the way his hand seemed to melt into his own.

****

“I kinda left my friends behind in the lunchroom,” Eddie said, beginning to feel bad about his choices. Richie turned back to look at him again.

****

“You mean Bill and the boys? They’ll forgive ya, Eddie Spaghetti. They’re stand up guys, that group,” Richie said. Eddie still hated Richie (first impressions don’t fade that fast), but Eddie noticed the softness in Richie’s eyes when he talked about the oddball group that Bill had assembled.  _ He cares about them  _ Eddie quickly realized, surprised. He remembered Richie slugging Henry for Ben, and realized he had probably pegged Richie instantly as trouble simply because he shared a name with a boy that Eddie once knew.

****

_ Once knew _ . 

****

His Richie would have a fit at the mess Eddie had gotten himself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA OKAY I'M BACK. I'm??? So sorry I haven't updated in over a week, I was taking some time off (I had fall break). I've also been studying a LOT and making sure my grades r high so there's that too :'). This chapter is a bit short and I PROMISE that next chapter there'll be waaaaaay more Richie and Eddie conversations (I'm trying to develop Beverly's character a bit more). We'll also see more of the gang in the chapters to come (lov my boys). If you have any questions feel free to ask :).
> 
> ALSO QUESTION:
> 
> Should I start like??? A spam account??? So y'all can see what my life is like???


	5. Richie and Eddie (Are Kinda Friends?)

Richie was having what was probably one of the best days he’d had.

 

_ Ever. _

 

Eddie looked new, and different, and  _ shiny _ . Shiny was the only other word Richie could find to describe Eddie, and it fit perfectly. There was a type of shimmer in the air that surrounded Eddie, and strands of light seemed to be woven into his hair. His smile was the brightest Richie had seen; thank god, he thought, Eddie had only smiled once. If he had smiled more, he would have been blinded by his teeth. Richie felt his heart beat faster at the thought of Eddie’s smile.

 

_ Calm down fucker _ . His heart seemed to get the memo and evened out. Eddie no longer seemed to be simply dragging along, Richie quickly realized, and seemed to be running along with him. Eddie’s too-big sweater seemed to eat him alive as he was running, and his shoes were quickly scuffing up from his feet dragging along. Richie thought back to his case, realizing he should be doing this with  _ Ben _ and not Eddie. Audra would probably boil him alive if she found out he was neglecting his case, but he couldn’t be bothered. Already, he had trailed Ben for a month, fighting off bullies and acting like a good friend. Eventually, it had stopped being ‘acting’, and Richie ended up genuinely liking the kid. 

 

So yeah. Richie thought he had earned some time with his best friend. The best friend that had no idea who he was. The best friends who had probably forgotten all about him.

 

Richie yanked Eddie into the class, a ghost of a joke on his lips. Eddie looked up at him, his eyes bright. The class hadn’t even started yet, and people were just starting to find their seats. Some people turned to look at the two who had burst into the room, but most people were already deep into conversation. One girl was asleep, her thick blonde hair covering the desk. Eddie looked around and saw an empty seat.

 

“Well… thanks for helping me find my class,” Eddie said, turning to face Richie. Richie smiled, and sat down. He patted a desk next to his.

 

“Come sit Eds,” he said. Eddie rolled his eyes.

 

“I swear to god Tozier, if you keep that up-”   
  
“You’ll instantly fall head over heels for me? Excellent!” Eddie sighed, and sat down.

 

“For the record, you’re not even my type,” Eddie said. A small part of Richie was disappointed (huh) but smiled good-naturedly at Eddie.   
  
“Oh, you know you wanna kiss me,” Eddie laughed, flashing Richie that 100-watt smile. Richie felt his heart act up again, and quickly turned away from Eddie, desperately looking for someone to talk to. Eddie, confused, leaned back in his seat.

 

Richie caught sight of Beverly and went over to her desk. She was bent over a textbook, marking through it.   
  
“And how is the bestest sister in the world doing?”

 

“I’m pretty sure that ‘bestest’ isn't a word, but she is doing pretty well, thank you very much,” she responded, not looking up from her textbook. Richie started talking again.

 

“How’d the convo with Eddie go? I felt you,” He whispered, looking around to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. At this, Beverly looked up from her book.

 

“You felt me? Damn. I tried to make it as lowkey as possible,” she leaned her head against her hand. “I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about cases at school?”   
  
“Well yeah, but this is Eddie. It’s different.”

 

“I mean, he just talked about his life story and stuff,” her voice softened. “He talked about you. A lot.” At this, Richie felt his heart speed up (uhhh is this thing broken?). He swallowed, hoping it’d go down.

 

“What did you use?”

 

“Pretty simple Overworld manipulation. I used a Time Freeze.” At this, Richie whistled.

 

“A Time Freeze? You must be fucking exhausted.”   
  
“You gotta remember I’m  _ way  _ better at Overworld manipulation than you. A Time Freeze is nothing.”   
  
“You gotta remember I slept through that class.” Beverly rolled her eyes.

 

“I tried to put some charm onto him; didn’t work.” She blew a bubble with her gum, and Richie reached out and popped it. Beverly turned away in the nick of time, quickly popping it herself and chewing it again. She looked over at him, annoyance clear in her eyes. For some reason, Richie felt...weird about the fact that Beverly tried to seduce Eddie. It was a common angel’s trick; get in their pants and try to solve all their problems. It was complicated, however, because if you grew  _ too  _ attached to your case, you were subject to disciplinary action.   
  
But... _ Eddie _ ? The whole concept of Beverly eyeing up Eddie really,  _ really  _ weirded Richie out. Beverly continued.

 

“Yeah, I think he’s  _ gay _ ,” she said, chewing her gum with a sort of nonchalant grace. “He responded to literally  _ none  _ of my  _ artistic charms _ .” She finished the statement with an ‘artful’ toss of her hair. Richie scoffed, but leaned in closer.

 

“I mean, he doesn’t really have any experience with girls; he could’ve just been confused,” Richie said. At this, Beverly shrugged.

 

“I guess. He just looked weirded out.” The bell rang, and the teacher walked into the room. Richie raced back into his desk, smoothly dipping down into his chair. He briefly glanced over at Eddie, who was fully absorbed in trying to figure out his textbook. Richie watched as Eddie gnawed away at his already super-short nails. Most people would find this habit gross (Eddie included), but Richie thought it was kind of (cute?) funny. Richie found it hard to focus throughout the class. His focus, usually trained on simple, one-word thoughts (once all he could think about was the word ‘bread’), was now entirely focused on Eddie.

 

Audra had briefed him on everything; the rules, his case, his cover story. She hadn’t prepared him for the shocking reality that was...Earth, he guessed.

 

The way the wind felt against his face...real wind, the wind smelling just like the wind was supposed to, like old dirt and a hint of rain. The way the sun felt on his back. The way the trees moved, alive. The way his best friend looked straight through him sometimes, as if he was looking for someone who wasn’t there. 

 

Richie felt like screaming at him, shaking him over and over again until Eddie realized that he was in the arms of his best friend, the best friend that would willingly die for him again, and again, and again.

 

Richie knew it was stupid; he’d known Eddie for five years. Five years wasn’t a long time, and Richie knew this. Richie knew what eternity tasted like, had felt it kiss him, soft and sweet, like butterfly wings gently brushing against the soft flesh of his lips. Richie would gladly trade eternity for a chance for Eddie to  _ see  _ him, really  _ see  _ him. The feelings of a five year old, those brief, colorful emotions, sang through his mind.    
  
He snapped back to attention when he felt a hand briefly touch his arm. It was Beverly, standing up near his desk.

 

“Hey. You looked like you were totally blissed out,” she said, leaning up against a desk near Richie’s. Richie sighed, and reached for Beverly’s box of cigarettes, daintily tucked into the pocket of her jacket. Playfully, she twisted away, and grabbed up her box with dancing fingers.

 

“Not so fast cowboy! You can smoke after you walk Ben home!” Richie let out a tired groan.

 

“I completely forgot.”

 

“You walk him home everyday. It’s your routine; better stick to it! I gotta find Eddie,” she finished, and began to walk away.

 

“Wait!” Beverly turned on her heels, staring at Richie with a bored expression.

  
“Tick-tock, Trashmouth, I gotta find him before he leaves.”   
  
“Tell him I said hi,” he said, finishing off with a weak smile. Beverly eyed him carefully, and placed a cigarette into her mouth. Richie tossed her a lighter. It clicked open, the sound reverberating through Richie’s ears.

 

“Don’t play with fire, Tozier. You know the rules.” With on final, cryptic glance, she walked off, leaving the classroom.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Hey! Hey Richie, over here!”

 

“I’m coming, Ben! Did you really think I’d forget?” Ben blushed a little, embarrassed. 

 

“...Maybe,” he said, shuffling his feet. Richie laughed, and swung his arm around Ben. Part of Richie’s ‘routine’ as Beverly had put it was to walk Ben home. It let him connect with Ben, and as Audra had said, connecting with your case was the first step to helping your case reach their full potential. 

 

The two boys walked out with the crowd of students, all of them chattering about their day. Ben excitedly reached into the side of his backpack and pulled out a book.

 

“Look what I got from the library, Richie!” He handed the book off to Richie, his excitement practically causing him to glow. Richie read the title carefully.

  
“‘A Beginner’s Guide to Architecture’? You finally gonna build that dam you were talking about?” Ben jumped a bit, unable to hide his joy.

“Mhm! Aw man, it’s gonna be so cool! I’m gonna get the boys to all help out down by the Barrens. You wanna come?”

 

Richie, struck suddenly with harsh memories of a past time, smiled through his dizzying memories.

 

“But of course, Benny boy! I’ll be there.”

 

“I might invite that new kid, you know, Eddie? He seemed like a cool guy. Sucks that he ditched us at lunch though.”   
  
“Ah you never know, he might have gotten sick.” Ben thought this statement over, and gingerly spoke again.

 

“You know, he  _ did  _ look pretty pale. You wanna come over with me to grab him?”   
  


“Wait, are we doing this now?”   
  
“Might as well get started, dontcha think?”    
  
“I mean I can do it today, but not at this exact moment. I gotta head home man.” Ben’s smile dimmed a bit, but was quickly restored when Richie started talking again.

 

“How about in an hour? That’ll give me some time to tell my mom what I’ll be doing and to get my sister off my back.” At the mention of Beverly, Ben blushed.

 

“Do you think she could maybe tag along? I mean, of course, only if you’re okay with it, it’s just that, well, she seems so nice and all so I just thought that maybe-” Ben’s long spiel was interrupted by Richie’s laughter. Ben turned an even darker shade of red.

  
“Hey! It’s not funny!”   
  
“Sorry, sorry. Yeah, she can tag along. Why not.” Ben smiled more, smiled so wide that Richie thought his face might split open. Richie laughed a little under his breath, fully aware of the major crush Ben had on his ‘sister’. He had told him about this a few weeks ago, and his face had been redder than any rose Richie had ever seen. It was kinda cute, honestly. The only reason Beverly would go to the Barrens would be to keep an eye on Eddie. The only reason Richie would go to the Barrens would be to keep an eye on (Eddie) Ben. It was really a win/win situation for the two angels. Ben and Richie continued walking and talking, telling each other about their day and the happenings that occurred within it. Finally, Richie and Ben reached Ben’s house. Ben walked up onto his porch, and turned around to wave at Richie. Richie waved back, smiling. He didn’t leave until he knew Ben was inside.   
  
Richie, Beverly, and Audra had been in Derry for two months. The Demonoid still hadn’t made itself known, hadn’t killed. Audra assured Richie and Beverly that this was a good thing, but Richie felt uneasy.  _ Three  _ angels in Derry was a tempting treat, and the fact that the Demonoid hadn’t struck yet was odd, to say the least. Richie’s aura alone should have been enough to draw the Demonoid out of hiding, and yet it stayed, lurking somewhere in the shadows, somewhere Richie felt was closer than it should be. 

 

Sometimes, when Richie was alone, with only the dim glow of a cigarette to light the space in front of him, Richie would feel a cold, soft draft of air brush against his face. The hairs on the back of his neck would stand, and the air would smell faintly of a smell Richie was all too familiar with. Acid, metallic, the scent of blood would overwhelm his senses. Richie knew better, Richie knew it was nothing to be afraid of, but still, the panicky feelings of a dying five year old would overwhelm him, and he would stand in silence, cigarette hanging loosely from from his shaky hands. The feeling would pass, and Richie would be left alone, a mess, on the floor of his bedroom, or the pavement of the street, or the tiles of the boys bathroom. Richie never told Beverly, never told Audra. A part of him knew (felt? sensed? grasped?) that the two would shake it off as PTSD, or treat him like a child. Another part of him knew he  _ did  _ have PTSD, knew he  _ was  _ a child, but he didn’t want to admit any of that. The memories of his Overworld childhood was full of blood, and fear, and Eddie. He wasn’t a child anymore, not in the traditional sense anyways, because he had had his childhood ripped away from him by a faceless man. He shuddered as he walked towards his house, intent on stopping his thoughts from going any further. 

 

When he got home, Beverly was waiting for him outside, reading a book with a cigarette in her mouth. He walked up to her, snatched her cigarette from her mouth, and leaned up against the house. Beverly looked up from her book and rolled her eyes.

 

“Finally, Tozier. Took you long enough.”

 

“You walk with Eddie?”   
  
“Nah, his mom picked him up from school. Jesus, she’s like his body guard. Most overprotective mom I’ve met.” This piqued Richie’s interest.   
  
“Really?”   
  
“Duh. That’s why I’m on this case.” Richie turned his head slightly, confused.

 

“Yikes, forgot that you totally left when Audra was explaining my case. You have no idea what I’m protecting him for, do you?” Richie opened his mouth to protest, then thought back to his meeting with Audra. They had discussed Ben’s case, sure, but when thinking back to  _ Beverly’s  _ meeting, he couldn’t remember anything.

  
“No,” he said quietly, embarrassed. Beverly snatched her cigarette back.

 

“Audra said it had to do with his mother. After you died, Eddie’s mother went from a regular, protective mother, to someone who acts like the living reincarnation of the antichrist if something happens to Eddie. It’s scary, actually; I went over towards Eddie and his mom and she started  _ screaming  _ at me because I smelled like cigarette smoke.” Richie winced.

 

“Poor Eddie.” Beverly nodded, and passed Richie her cigarette. He took it, and breathed in the nostalgic smell of nicotine. His father had smoked, probably. Someone in his family had smoked. The memories of then and now had become so muddled in his brain that he didn’t really  _ want  _ to have to take the time to separate them. Suddenly, the door of the house whipped open. Richie scrambled to put out his cigarette as he watched Beverly’s mouth open in protest. Audra walked out of the house and out onto the front lawn.

 

“Don’t bother, Richie. I could smell the smoke from inside the house. Y’all aren’t very slick, you know that right?” Audra, ever the chameleon, had developed a sort of southern twang. “I need case reports pronto.  _ Don’t  _ give me that look Beverly, Richie’s had to do them since he got here.” Beverly let out a groan, and both teenagers walked into the house. Audra stayed out a few seconds longer, enjoying the feeling of sun on her skin.

 

The house that the makeshift family had occupied had it’s own type of charm. Sure, the bathrooms only ever got cold water (Beverley always found an opportunity to complain about this), and Richie was pretty sure the attic had a small family of raccoons living in it, but it was nice. It was a home, something Beverly and Richie hadn’t had in years. Something Audra had always dreamed of. Richie’s room was just as expected; it was messy, with clothes piling up in every corner. Beverly’s room wasn’t any better; she had a habit of smoking in her bed, which meant that all of her cigarette ashes and bums ended up collecting in small piles across her floor. Beverly smoked a  _ lot,  _ so those ‘small piles’ rapidly became slightly larger small piles. Audra’s room was spotless; a small section of her room acted as her office, and Beverly and Richie visited it frequently. Richie sat down in Audra’s room in a small chair Audra had bought from a yard sale. Beverly, annoyed, took another chair to Richie’s let. Audra came into the room, excited to begin.

 

“Alright! Beverly, since you finally got to talk to your case, how about you begin!” Beverly rolled her eyes.

 

“Are these really necessary? I mean, once my case is over, I’ll be reporting everything to the High Council, not you.” Audra, irked by Beverly’s tone, let out an exasperated sigh.

 

“Understood, Beverly. Duly noted. I don’t think you really understand how long the typical childhood case is.” Beverly moved around uneasily in her seat.

 

“It’s a year, right?”   
  
“That’s an adult case. On average, the typical childhood case takes  _ three years _ . By reporting your findings to me on a daily basis, we’re able to construct a portfolio. This makes it easier for you to deliver your case to the High Council.”   
  
“How bad can that be?”   
  
“The first case I ever took was the case where I lost my wings, Beverly.” Beverly, shocked, looked at Audra with wide eyes. Richie did the same; he hadn’t heard about this.

 

Really, Richie never payed attention to his wings when he was an angel. They were just...there. There wasn’t any real sentiment towards them. In fact, most angels saw their wings as nuisances more than anything. Many clipped them down until all that was left was a small patch of feathers on their backs.   
  
Wings might have been annoying, yes, but feathers were of the utmost importance. Feathers were what made an angel an  _ angel,  _ in addition to an aura. Feathers gave angels better overworld abilities; that was one of the reasons Beverly was so good at overworld manipulation. Richie and Beverly’s wings didn’t accompany them on their trip to the overworld, but their feathers did. Beverly had more feathers on her back than Richie did, something that annoyed her. Richie had never been able to understand why.

  
Losing your wings meant losing your feathers.   
  


“That’s why you can’t screw up your cases; you can lose too much. Far, far too much.” Audra straightened her posture and smiled. “Let’s begin, Beverly.” Beverly cleared her throat.   
  
“I talked to Eddie out in the hall, when I was smoking. He was crying, like, gross, ugly sobs. I stopped time for a quick minute-and yes, Audra, to answer the question I know you’re going to ask, I  _ did  _ confine it so that it was just around Eddie and I. I’m not  _ stupid _ . We talked about his life; his mother, his lack of control. Mostly we talked about Richie though. The conversation always seemed to head back to Richie.” Audra nodded slightly, jotting down notes on a pad of paper. Richie fiddled with his hands, flustered by something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “He seems...distant. I don’t know how to describe it. The way he moves...the way he talks...it’s jarring. It’s practiced.” Audra looked up.

 

“Why do you think that is?”   
  


“I guess it could be due to his lack of communication? He told me that e never talked to anyone other than the occasional neighbor that would come over to visit his mother. Interaction with other children was rare, unless they were relatives of the children of his mother’s friends.”   
  
“Mhm. Okay, that’s all for today Beverly. I expect more tomorrow.” Beverly went to get up, but was stopped when Audra cleared her throat.

 

“Stay for Richie’s report, please,” she said, not looking away from her notepad. Beverly rolled her eyes and slouched back in her chair. Richie sighed.

 

“Same old same old, Audra. We walked home from school, I beat up Henry, the usual.”

 

“You did  _ what? _ ” At this, Beverly began laughing.

 

“Oh man Audra, it was the weakest fight I’ve ever seen. It was over in like, two punches.”   
  
“You know you’re not supposed to use force unless absolutely necessary!”   
  
“Well, it was absolutely necessary!” Richie said. He ran his fingers through his hair, annoyed at how the conversation had turned into what seemed to be an attack on his judgement. “I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think it was necessary, Audra.”  Audra still seemed to be dissatisfied with this answer, but sighed, and wrote it down.   
  
“Anything else?”

 

“Yeah, Ben invited me to go down to the Barrens with him and the rest of the boys. We’re supposed to be building a dam.”   
  
“Don’t you think you’re a little old for that?”   
  
“Piss off Bev, you’re coming too.” Beverly coughed.

 

“I’m doing what now?”   
  
“Eddie’s gonna be there too. You know the rules; wherever your case goes, you go.”   
  
“God d-”   
  
“No language in the house please!” Audra’s voice cut in, shriller than usual.

 

“What’s got your panties in a twist A-”   
  
“Beverly, how many times am I gonna have to tell you that when you’re in this house, you treat me like I’m your actual mother. You remember what a mother is, don’t you?”   
  
“Barely,” Beverly replied, her voice bleak. Audra, sensing she had hit a weak point, retreated.   
  
“Just...go, Beverly. Please.” Audra’s voice had gotten steadier, softer. Beverly shrugged.

 

“Fine.”

 

Richie, who had been present for the entire argument, shifted uncomfortably.

  
“So...you ready to head out? I told Ben I’d grab him.”

 

“Sure.”   
  
The two teenagers left the house, with Beverly slamming the door behind her. She pulled out her box of cigarettes and tossed one to Richie. Richie scrambled to catch it, almost dropping it. He pulled out his lighter, and lit both Beverly and his cigarettes. Beverly took in a sharp drag and coughed, smoke filling her lungs.

 

“God, she can be such a bitch.”   
  
“Watch it Beverly. She’s not that bad.”   
  
“You’re just soft on her because she gave you some half assed explanation on how Heaven works. Newsflash Richie; she didn’t tell you the half of it.”   
  
“Fuck off Beverly.”

 

The two of them stood in a thick haze of silence, waiting for the other to say something. The smoke of their cigarettes filled the air, billowing up into the sky.

 

“That was bitchy of me to say. I’m sorry, Trashmouth.”

 

“I get it Beverly. I get it.”

 

The two of them stood a little longer, then began walking in the direction of Ben’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god i'm so sorry it's been s o long since i've uploaded. i've been really super busy with schoolwork and all that jazz (ya girl's trying to keep a 4.0!!!!). This chapter is p long, and the next chapter will be FULL of Richie and Eddie moments. Also; someone dies???
> 
> ya i plan on making this an emotional rollercoaster.

**Author's Note:**

> oHHH BOY OKAY. This au is???? Really complex so if you have any questions or anything please leave a comment! This is my first fic so constructive criticism is very much appreciated :). Thanks for reading dolls!


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